Meet the Communications & Marketing Team

Steven Benowitz

Senior Science Writer

Long-time science writer Steve Benowitz has worked for a range of universities, organizations and publications for decades. He spent the last dozen years at the National Institutes of Health, writing about research in cancer, genomics and rare diseases, among other topics, and managing media relations. Prior to that, he was a science writer at several academic institutions, including The Ohio State University, Penn State University and Thomas Jefferson University, and served as Director of Communications for the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego.

As a journalist and freelance writer, he’s had bylines at Science News, The Scientist, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Bulletin. He has degrees in biology and journalism from Penn State University.

Lisa Black

Coordinator, Administrative Operations

Lisa works closely with the associate vice president and manages day-to-day operations for the entire communications team. Lisa has been with the university for 21 years. She loves spending time with family, enjoying the outdoors and re-creating favorite dishes she discovers while traveling.

Stephanie Doster

Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives
Portrait of Stephanie Doster
Pronouns:
she, her, hers

Links

Stephanie Doster has been part of the University of Arizona’s research enterprise since 2005, when she moved to Tucson. Trained as a journalist, Stephanie was a newspaper reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Times-Picayune, leaving New Orleans for Arizona two months before Hurricane Katrina. The thrill of her newspaper career was slicing through the air as a passenger in an F-16 with an Air Force Thunderbird pilot. 

At UArizona, she has been part of the marketing and communications community across campus and has served on a number of committees and working groups. She was a writer, editor, and manager at the Institute of the Environment, an associate director of research communications, and director of research communications in Research, Innovation and Impact. 

Part of the ICDI executive team since October 2022, she oversees all aspects of the institute’s marketing, communications, and engagement. She also directs marketing and communications for the Space4 Center. In a previous life, she spoke Russian and a tiny bit of Turkmen as a Peace Corps volunteer living on the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan.

Degrees

  • MA, Public Affairs Reporting, University of Maryland at College Park

Gawain Douglas

Senior Manager, Internal Engagement

Gawain supports the Health Sciences Office of Communications internal communications website, Health Sciences Connect, through the coordination, writing and editing of weekly honor and award stories highlighting faculty and staff successes from all Health Sciences colleges and centers. He also curates photos and writes copy for photo galleries, along with writing feature stories focusing on faculty and staff. Prior to joining Health Sciences Communications, Douglas worked as a designer, art director and senior manager at the Arizona Daily Star, the Tucson Citizen and Learning A-Z, an educational technology company. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Arizona, where he was an adjunct professor in the School of Journalism for 15 years. He earned a master’s degree in art and design from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Paul Fini

Senior Project and Performance Manager

Paul manages website development, digital communications and graphic design for the Health Sciences Office of Communications. Originally from Chicago, Paul worked as a freelance designer before relocating to Tucson in 2005. He soon joined the Biocommunications team at the College of Medicine – Tucson. Paul utilizes his vast experience to elevate the digital presence and communication efforts of the Health Sciences.

Kris Hanning

Senior Photojournalist

Kris is the multimedia manager and lead photographer for the University of Arizona Health Sciences Office of Communications. Kris helps with online content creation and story imagery. If you need photographs for various stories or websites, she will either source them or photograph them for you. Kris has a degree in Media and Theater Arts from Montana State University.

Lesley Merrifield

Director, Social Media

Lesley works to elevate the University of Arizona Health Sciences brand through strategic social media management and media relations, ensuring that messaging aligns with strategic priorities and engages target audiences. She has more than 20 years of experience in private and nonprofit sectors, and she has contributed her expertise to foundations, hospitals and the architectural and engineering industries.

Stacy Pigott

Senior Director, Storytelling and Engagement

Stacy leads a team of brand content writers, media relations professionals and social media specialists and oversees external communications. She is responsible for developing and implementing communications strategies that drive awareness, engagement and support of the University of Arizona Health Sciences as a leading academic medical center. She also creates and manages integrated marketing plans to advance strategic initiatives and other education, research and outreach activities.

Erica Rankin

Multimedia Manager

Erica serves as manager of video content, working to produce, edit and oversee the video production process from conception through completion for internal, external and general marketing material. She has an undergraduate degree in multimedia journalism and media arts from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in human relations from Northern Arizona University. Erica has worked at the University of Arizona Health Sciences since starting as a student worker with Biocommunications in 2007 and worked her way up to senior videographer before transitioning to the Office of Communications in 2019.

Rachel Reinhardt

Associate Vice President, Research Communications

Rachel Reinhardt is the Associate Vice President for Research Communications within the Office of Research & Partnerships at the University of Arizona, where she leads institution-wide communications strategy to elevate the visibility, voice and impact of the university’s research enterprise.

Reinhardt previously served as Associate Vice President for Communications at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, where she led communications strategy across five health sciences colleges, major research centers and clinical partnerships. She directed a 40-person team responsible for brand development, executive communications, research visibility, internal communications and digital engagement.

She brings more than two decades of senior leadership in communications for global research organizations, academic institutions and public health nonprofits. As Senior Vice President for Communications at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, she shaped the organization’s global communications strategy, unified a decentralized network under a shared brand and established platforms to amplify scientific achievements across audiences. Her work included rebranding, integrated editorial frameworks, internal and external engagement and issues management across multiple international sites.

Earlier, as National Director of Marketing and Communications at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, she led messaging strategy during a pivotal mission expansion and developed national tools to support donor communications, media engagement and chapter alignment. She previously served as Senior Director of Global Communications at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, where she led a cross-continental team to increase visibility and support for global HIV vaccine research.

Reinhardt began her career at France Telecom North America as Vice President for Communications, leading U.S. communications during the company’s IPO and its acquisition of Global One.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in French and International Studies from Yale University, graduating cum laude in 1996.

Lisa Black

Katy Smith

Science Writer

Katy brings over a decade of experience in strategic communications at the University of Arizona. Most recently, she was senior writer and editor with the College of Engineering’s marketing communications team, where she covered everything from the Cancer Engineering Initiative to biomedical innovations and health-focused student projects.

Before that, she supported university-wide philanthropy and alumni engagement efforts as a writer and editor for the University of Arizona Foundation.

Katy is excited to help share the impactful work happening across Health Sciences in ways that are clear, compelling and meaningful.

Dan Suzuki

Videographer and Motion Graphics Artist

Daniel is a videographer and motion graphic animator. He has a broad background working with companies in the nuclear energy, cancer treatment, meal kit and rock climbing industries. 

Phil Villarreal

Media Relations Specialist

Phil, a graduate of the University of Arizona, worked for 17 years as a reporter at the Arizona Daily Star and then for eight years as real-time editor at KGUN-TV. He has written four books and blogs about entertainment at becauseitoldyouso.com. He is married with four children. In his role at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, he writes news releases and brand stories and coordinates media requests.